Dorset Police news site

Dorset Police has carried out a week of action to tackle drugs and county lines under Operation Viper in the ongoing fight against making Dorset a hostile place for suspected criminals.

Activity took place between Monday 4 July to Friday 8 July 2022 and was led by Dorset Police’s Neighbourhood Enforcement Teams, Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Force Support Group and Intelligence Unit. This resulted in 76 disruptions including:

• 20 arrests for drug offences – predominantly the supply of class A and B drug
• £41,170 cash seized
• 40 drug line disruptions
• £36,150 worth of drugs seized
• 11 vulnerable children and adults safeguarded

• 20 mobile phones seized
• 56 addresses visited linked to vulnerable victims

Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell, of Dorset Police, said: “Operation Viper is our approach to target those who are believed to be bringing drugs into our county to sell and deal in our communities. This causes significant harm, particularly on young and vulnerable people, enticing them to get involved in drug dealing or wider criminality.

“This is something we as a Force are not going to tolerate and we want to work with the residents of Dorset and our partners to stamp out this organised crime that blights our communities and puts people at harm.

“We’ve seen some impressive results in Dorset during this week of action including a large number of arrests, the dismantling of a suspected cannabis factory worth around £20,000 and the arrest of a man who reportedly had £10,000-worth of drugs on him and I’d like to thank our hard working officers and staff for their efforts.

“We rely on community intelligence so please talk to us – if things are going on in your community or if you see suspicious activity please let us know via our website or by calling 101.

“We will take this fight to the criminals and are determined to be tough on crime and stamp out county lines and drugs activity which has no place in Dorset.”

The initiative was part of wider collaboration activity known as Operation Scorpion between the five police forces in the South West, alongside their respective Police and Crime Commissioners, the British Transport Police, South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SW ROCU) and the charity Crimestoppers to combine resources and tackle drug supply across the region.

Across the South West, there were a total of 127 arrests, £180,000 of cash seized, £638,000-worth of street value drugs seized, 465 disruptions to drug lines and 237 vulnerable people safeguarded.

David Sidwick Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset said: “I want to thank all the officers and staff from across the partnership who have put in so many hours into making phase two of Operation Scorpion such a success. I know that all of the PCC’s share the same objective here – to make the whole of the South West region a hostile environment for drug criminality and county lines.

“As Police and Crime Commissioners we know that criminals don’t see county borders and Op Scorpion shows those criminals that we too can work in the same way – put simply - there is no hiding place. 

“The Op Scorpion partners will continue to work together - targeting criminality, taking drugs off our streets, sharing intelligence, protecting the vulnerable and putting a ring of steel around the South West.”

Anyone with information about illegal drugs activity should report it via the Dorset Police website or by calling 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.

To pass on information anonymously, speak to the independent charity Crimestoppers 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year on 0800 555 111 or use their non-traceable online form. Contact will remain 100% anonymous. Always. They will never ask for a name or contact details and the phone call or online report will never be traced. If the information supplied leads to an arrest and charge, there could be a cash reward of up to £1,000.